PAET (Planetary Atmospheric Entry Test)

Planetary Atmospheric Experiment Test (PAET) 3/4
top view of the completed PAET Engineering model showing the details
of the assembly of the components and wiring harness

PAET (Planetary Atmospheric Entry Test) is a NASA experiment to study the feasibility of using measurements (include
mass spectrometer measurements) made by high-speed entry probes to determine
the structure and composition of unknown planetary atmospheres. The concept,
developed by Alvin Seiff of the Ames Research Laboratory, was demonstrated
by PAET in Earth's atmosphere and later used to investigate the atmospheric
structures, of Mars, Venus, and Jupiter. PAET was in fact the world's first
reentry atmospheric reconstruction experiment.